JP5486712B1 - Substrate transport box and substrate transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

A highly versatile substrate transfer apparatus that is not restricted by the position of a processing chamber or the like is provided.
A substrate transfer apparatus includes a substrate transfer box having a fork plate that adsorbs a substrate taken out from a carrier disposed at a carry-in port by suction of an inert gas and a substrate transfer box from the substrate transfer box. The substrate standby chamber 20 provided with a standby table 21a for adsorbing a substrate to be formed by the ejection of an inert gas and the substrate adsorbed on the standby table 21a of the substrate standby chamber 20 are subjected to predetermined processing on the substrate. A transfer arm 27 for transferring to the processing chamber 2. The substrate transport box 10 is filled with an inert gas used for Bernoulli adsorption, and the substrate standby chamber 20 is filled with an inert gas used for Bernoulli adsorption. Due to the inert gas, the internal pressure of the substrate transfer box 10 and the substrate standby chamber 20 becomes a positive pressure with respect to the external atmospheric pressure.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate transfer box and a substrate transfer apparatus for transferring a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate, or the like from a plurality of processing apparatuses while blocking them from the atmosphere.

  In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices and the like, semiconductor wafers or glass substrates (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrates”) processed in a processing chamber of a certain process are accommodated in a carrier, and then to the loading port of the processing chamber of the next process. After the transfer, the substrate is taken out of the carrier by the transfer arm and transferred to the processing chamber. Further, when there is a subsequent process, the processed substrate is accommodated in the carrier again and is transported to the subsequent processing chamber in the same procedure as described above.

In the manufacturing process as described above, there is a problem that a natural oxide film is formed because the substrate after processing is exposed to the atmosphere in the process of transporting between the processing chambers. As a conventional technique for solving such a problem, Patent Document 1 discloses, as the above carrier, FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod: wafer transport container compliant with SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Institute) standard). A substrate transfer module for transferring a substrate from such a container to a processing chamber using a sealed container is disclosed.
In the substrate transfer module described in Patent Document 1, a substrate in a carrier is taken into a substrate transfer chamber via a robot and then transferred to a processing chamber. An inert gas is supplied and circulated inside the substrate transfer chamber. Therefore, it can suppress that the board | substrate currently conveyed is exposed to air | atmosphere and other contaminants, and reacts.

JP 2004-311940 A

The substrate transfer chamber of the substrate transfer module disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a robot (transfer arm) for transferring a substrate taken out from a carrier in an inert gas atmosphere to the processing chamber. Therefore, the chamber size is large and the configuration in the chamber tends to be complicated.
In addition, in the substrate transfer module disclosed in Patent Document 1, an inert gas that fills the chamber is used for the purpose of preventing adhesion of harmful substances to the substrate. For this reason, a mechanism for making it clean at the time of circulation is provided, and the overall configuration of the module becomes large. The substrate transfer module having such a configuration cannot have versatility such as changing the transport mechanism in accordance with the position of the processing chamber.

  It is a main object of the present invention to provide a highly versatile and simple substrate transport apparatus that is not restricted by the position of a processing chamber or the like.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a substrate transfer device and a substrate transfer box used in the substrate transfer device.
The substrate transport box of the present invention is a movable substrate transport box for transporting a substrate having front and back surfaces, and has a box-shaped housing in which a housing space is formed. the support plate for supporting each of said substrate in a non-contact is arranged to overlap a plurality of stages at predetermined intervals. Each support plate is formed with a positioning mechanism for the substrate and an inert gas ejection mechanism for injecting an inert gas toward the back surface of the substrate in order to adsorb the substrate with Bernoulli. The inert gas passes through the gap between the support plate and the back surface portion of the substrate, wraps around the surface portion of the substrate supported by the surface portion and other support plates, and stays in the accommodation space. And it is comprised so that the said storage space may be made into a positive pressure with respect to the exterior of the said housing | casing.

The substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention includes a first port in which a container for storing a plurality of substrates each having front and back surfaces is disposed, and a plurality of the plurality of substrates that are taken out from the container disposed in the first port. A first substrate transport box that accommodates the substrate, a transport mechanism that transports the first substrate transport box to a second port away from the first port, and the first substrate transport box transported to the second port A second substrate transport box for storing a plurality of substrates taken out from the substrate, and a plurality of substrates stored in the second substrate transport box, and performing a predetermined process on the plurality of substrates that have been taken out And a guide mechanism for guiding to the processing chamber.
Each of the first substrate transport box and the second substrate transport box has a box-shaped housing in which an accommodation space is formed. In the accommodation space, support plates that support the substrate in a non-contact manner are arranged in a plurality of stages at predetermined intervals. Each support plate is formed with a positioning mechanism for the substrate and an inert gas ejection mechanism for injecting an inert gas toward the back surface of the substrate in order to adsorb the substrate with Bernoulli. The inert gas passes through the gap between the support plate and the back surface portion of the substrate, wraps around the surface portion of the substrate supported by the surface portion and other support plates, and stays in the accommodation space. Thus, the housing space is configured to be positive with respect to the outside of the housing.

According to the present invention, since the housing space of the substrate transport box for transporting the substrate is filled with the inert gas and the housing space is maintained at a positive pressure with respect to the outside of the housing, the substrate is transported to the substrate transport box. When transferring between or between the substrate transfer box and the processing chamber, exposure time to the atmosphere is shortened, and contamination such as formation of a natural oxide film can be suppressed.
Further, since the inert gas used when adsorbing the substrate to Bernoulli can be used as it is, it is not necessary to make the mechanism for making the accommodation space positive pressure particularly complicated.
Since the substrate can be transported to the processing chamber through such a substrate transport box, a highly versatile substrate transporting device that matches the position of the processing chamber can be realized.

The top view which shows the outline | summary of a structure of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus of this embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the side surface direction of a board | substrate conveyance box. Explanatory drawing when a board | substrate conveyance box takes out a board | substrate from a carrier. Explanatory drawing of a structure of a board | substrate conveyance box and a transfer mechanism. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the side surface direction of a board | substrate standby box. Explanatory drawing in the case of carrying a board | substrate into a board | substrate standby room from a carrier. The figure showing the state of a board | substrate conveyance apparatus. The figure showing the state of a board | substrate conveyance apparatus. Explanatory drawing in the case of carrying a board | substrate out to a carrier from a board | substrate standby chamber. The figure showing the state of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus at the time of carrying out. The figure showing the state of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus at the time of carrying out. The figure showing the state of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus at the time of carrying out.

  Embodiments of the substrate transfer apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described below. The substrate transfer apparatus targets a substrate having front and back surfaces, such as a semiconductor wafer and a glass substrate, and takes the substrate out of a carrier that accommodates the substrate and carries it into a processing chamber for processing. When the processing is completed, the substrate transfer apparatus carries out the processed substrate from the processing chamber and stores it in the carrier.

[Configuration of substrate transfer device]
FIG. 1 is a top view of the configuration of the substrate transfer apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. The substrate transfer device 1 is configured by combining two types of substrate transfer boxes each capable of accommodating a substrate. One type of substrate transport box is provided on the transfer mechanism 40 between the carry-in port 50 and the carry-out port 51 and is used as the substrate transport box 10 that moves along the guide 41.
Another type of substrate transfer box is used as semi-fixed substrate standby boxes 21 and 24 accommodated in a substrate standby chamber 20 between the transfer mechanism 40 of the substrate transfer box 10 and the processing chamber 2. The substrate standby box 21 temporarily stands by when the substrate taken out from the substrate transport box 10 is transferred to the processing chamber 2. The substrate standby box 24 temporarily waits for the substrate taken out from the processing chamber 2. The substrate standby chamber 20 is a front chamber when a substrate is carried into and out of the processing chamber 2 and is provided in close contact with a structure in which outside air does not enter, for example, the processing chamber 2.

  The carrier 30 is a highly sealed container that prevents ingress of outside air, and one surface thereof is opened. The opening surface is formed in a surface portion that faces the substrate transport box 10 when set in the carry-in port 50, and is opened and closed by an opening / closing mechanism 32 controlled by a control device (not shown). The opening / closing mechanism 32 opens the opening surface when the substrate is taken out to the substrate transport box 10. The storage space of the carrier 30 is provided with a stacker 31 in which grooves or protrusions for gripping the outer periphery of the substrate are formed in a plurality of stages at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. In this example, it is assumed that 25 substrates are accommodated in the stacker 31 simultaneously.

  The substrate transport box 10 has a box-shaped housing that is open on one side. A housing space for the substrate is formed inside the housing. An opening / closing mechanism 12 such as a gate valve is provided on the opening surface of the housing. The opening / closing mechanism 12 is arranged to face the opening / closing mechanism 32 of the carrier 30 when the carrier 30 is set in the carry-in port 50. The substrate transport box 10 is also provided with a turning mechanism for turning the housing at a predetermined angle, for example, 180 degrees.

  In the accommodation space of the substrate transport box 10, fork plates 11 for supporting the substrate in a non-contact manner are arranged on the upper surface of the pedestal 13 so as to be stacked in a plurality of stages at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. In the present embodiment, an example in which 25 stages are arranged in accordance with the formation interval of the grooves or protrusions of the stacker 31 of the carrier 30 is shown, but the number of stages may be arbitrary.

Each fork plate 11 is an example of a support plate that supports the substrate in a non-contact manner by Bernoulli adsorption, and includes a substrate positioning mechanism and an inert gas that injects an inert gas toward the back surface of the substrate. And an ejection mechanism. As a result, the accommodation space of the substrate transport box 10 is filled with an inert gas to prevent the substrate from inadvertently causing a chemical reaction. The positioning mechanism and the inert ejection mechanism will be described later.
Each fork plate 11 is driven and controlled by the control device, so that it moves together with the base that slides on the base 13 toward the back surface of the substrate housed in the stacker 31 of the carrier 30. Then, the substrate accommodated in the accommodation space 31 is taken out while being supported by Bernoulli adsorption, and returns to the accommodation space as it is together with the base. Since the 25-stage fork plate 11 can take out up to 25 substrates at a time from the carrier 30, it can be efficiently taken out and stored, and the time during which the substrate is exposed to the atmosphere can be shortened. it can.
Details of the operation of taking out and housing the substrate will be described later.

  The two substrate standby boxes 21 and 24 provided in the substrate standby chamber 20 will be described. The substrate standby boxes 21 and 24 are different from the substrate transport box 10 in that each of the substrate standby boxes 21 and 24 has a box-shaped housing having two surfaces opened. Opening and closing mechanisms 22, 23, 25, and 26 such as gate valves are provided on the two surfaces that are opened. The opening / closing mechanism 22 opens and closes the supply port of the substrate standby chamber 20 and is opened when the substrate is supplied from the substrate transport box 10. The opening / closing mechanism 23 is opened when the transfer of the substrate to the processing chamber 2 is started. The opening / closing mechanism 25 opens and closes the exit of the substrate standby chamber 20 and is opened when the substrate is carried out to the substrate transport box 10. The opening / closing mechanism 26 is opened when the substrate is unloaded from the processing chamber 2.

The substrate standby boxes 21 and 24 also include a support plate that supports the substrate in a non-contact manner. In the present embodiment, these support plates are called standby stages 21a and 24a. The standby stage 21a supports the substrate before being carried into the processing chamber 2 in a non-contact manner by Bernoulli adsorption. The standby stage 24a supports the substrate before being carried out to the substrate transport box 10 in a non-contact manner by Bernoulli adsorption. The standby stages 21 a and 24 a are arranged in the same number of stages as the fork plates 11 of the substrate transport box 10. In other words, 25 stages are arranged at the same interval as the fork plate 11.
Similarly to the fork plate 11, the standby stages 21 a and 24 a are also formed with a substrate positioning mechanism and an inert gas ejection mechanism that injects an inert gas toward the back surface of the substrate. As a result, the accommodation space of the substrate standby boxes 21 and 24 is filled with an inert gas to prevent the substrate from inadvertently causing a chemical reaction.

On the processing chamber 2 side of the substrate standby boxes 21 and 24, a transfer arm 27 which is a double arm robot is provided. The transport arm 27 is an example of a guide mechanism that takes out the substrate from the standby stage 21 a of the substrate standby box 21 and transports the substrate to the processing chamber 2 and accommodates the substrate that has been processed in the processing chamber 2 in the substrate standby box 24. .
The transfer arm 27 is provided on the guide 271 and moves to the substrate standby box 21 when the substrate is loaded into the processing chamber 2, and moves to the substrate standby box 24 when the substrate is unloaded from the processing chamber 2. The guide 271 is provided on two rails 272 extending from the substrate standby chamber 20 to the processing chamber 2. The transfer arm 27 moves on the rail 272 together with the guide 271 to transfer the substrate from the substrate standby box 21 to the processing chamber 2 and transfer the substrate from the processing chamber 2 to the substrate standby box 24. The transfer arm 27 includes a fork plate 273 in each of the double arms. The fork plate 273 is a support plate that supports the substrate in a non-contact manner by Bernoulli adsorption, and has the same structure as the fork plate 11 of the substrate transport box 10. In addition, 25 layers are arranged at the same interval as the fork plate 11 so that all the substrates can be taken out from the substrate standby box 21 at a time.

[Details of substrate transport box]
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the structure of the substrate transport box 10 in the side surface direction.
The substrate transport box 10 includes a pedestal 13 that is parallel to a horizontal plane during operation, and the above-described base 141 that reciprocates between the end facing the opening / closing mechanism 12 and the opening / closing mechanism 12 on the pedestal 13. ing. A columnar support member 14 is fixedly provided on the base 141. A plurality of fork plates 11 are provided from the support member 14 so as to extend to the opening / closing mechanism 12 side. Each fork plate 11 has a flat plate shape and is provided so as to be parallel to the seating surface of the pedestal 13. Each fork plate 11 includes an edge clamp 111 as an example of a positioning mechanism for determining a support position of the substrate W. A gas supply path 15 is provided inside the support member 14 and each fork plate 11. An inert gas is supplied from the gas supply path 15. In this example, nitrogen gas is used as an example of the inert gas.

An inert gas ejection mechanism is provided at the substrate support position of each fork plate 11. The inert gas ejection mechanism is configured by an ejection nozzle that injects nitrogen gas supplied from a gas supply path 15 following the movement of the base 141 at a predetermined angle, for example, an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the surface of the fork plate 11. The
The surface portion of the fork plate 11 that faces the back surface of the substrate W is made of a conductive resin, and is designed to prevent static electricity from spreading and preventing charging caused by the supply of nitrogen gas.

The substrates W are supported one by one on each fork plate 11 by the ejection of nitrogen gas in a non-contact state by Bernoulli adsorption. The arrow in FIG. 2 represents the flow path of nitrogen gas. The nitrogen gas ejected from the ejection nozzle of the fork plate 11 passes through the gap between the fork plate 11 and the back surface of the substrate W, and is supported from the peripheral portion of the substrate W to the surface portion of the substrate W and other fork plates 11. Wrap around the surface of the substrate W. This surrounding nitrogen gas stays in the accommodation space in the substrate transport box 10 and fills the accommodation space. Thereby, the atmospheric pressure in the accommodation space of the substrate transport box 10 by the nitrogen gas becomes a positive pressure with respect to the atmospheric pressure outside the housing of the substrate transport box 10. The positive pressure prevents the outside air from flowing into the accommodation space of the substrate transport box 10 when the opening / closing mechanism 12 is opened.
The substrate transport box 10 includes a vent 16 that adjusts the internal pressure in the accommodation space. By opening the vent 16, it is possible to adjust the atmospheric pressure in the substrate transport box 10 when the pressure in the substrate transport box 10 becomes too high. Therefore, the board | substrate conveyance box 10 may be provided with the barometer which measures an internal pressure.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram when the substrate transport box 10 takes out the substrate W from the carrier 30. The substrate W is horizontally supported in the accommodation space 31 by the teeth 33 provided in the accommodation space 31 of the carrier 30.

  When the substrate W is taken out, the opening surface of the accommodation space of the carrier 30 and the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 are arranged in close contact with each other. The substrate W can be taken out by opening both the opening and closing mechanisms 32 and 12. Even when both the opening and closing mechanisms 32 and 12 are opened, the carrier 30 and the substrate transport box 10 are in close contact with each other, so that outside air does not flow into the substrate transport box 10. In this state, the base 141, the support member 14, and the fork plate 11 of the substrate transport box 10 enter the housing space 31 together. The plurality of fork plates 11 are arranged so as to enter between the substrates W supported horizontally in the accommodation space 31. Since nitrogen gas is still ejected from each fork plate 11, the fork plate 11 that has entered adsorbs the substrate W supported in the accommodation space 31 by Bernoulli.

  After the Bernoulli adsorption, the base 141, the support member 14, and the fork plate 11 of the substrate transport box 10 move on the base 13 from the accommodation space 31 of the carrier 30 to the original position of the housing of the substrate transport box 10. Slide back. In this way, the substrate transport box 10 can take out all the plurality of substrates W accommodated in the accommodation space 31 at a time. This operation is the same when the substrate W is taken out from the substrate standby box 24. The base 141 on the pedestal 13 and the displacement mechanism thereof allow the fork plate 11 provided on the support member 14 to enter the accommodation space 31 of the carrier 30 and accommodate the fork plate 11 in the substrate transport box 10 after adsorbing the substrate W. It becomes a support plate displacement mechanism accommodated in space.

  Similarly, when the substrate W is carried out to the carrier 30, the substrate transport box 10 similarly causes the base 141, the support member 14, and the fork plate 11 to enter the accommodation space 31. At the time of unloading to the carrier 30, the edge of the substrate W is supported by the teeth 33 in the accommodation space 31, and then the adsorption force due to Bernoulli adsorption is reduced by reducing the amount of nitrogen gas ejected, for example. The substrate W is carried out into the 31. This operation is the same when a substrate is carried into the substrate standby box 21.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the substrate transport box 10 and the transfer mechanism 40.
The substrate transport box 10 is provided on a cylindrical support shaft 42 that stands on the guide 41 of the transfer mechanism 40. The support shaft 42 is movable along the guide 41. The support shaft 42 can rotate around the shaft. As the support shaft 42 rotates, the substrate transport box 10 turns. Inside the support shaft 42, for example, a gas supply path 43 is provided along the central axis. Nitrogen gas is supplied to the gas supply path 43 from an external nitrogen gas supply device. Nitrogen gas is supplied to the substrate transport box 10 via the gas supply path 43. Since the gas supply path 43 is provided along the central axis, nitrogen gas can be supplied to the substrate transport box 10 even when the support shaft 42 rotates.

  The substrate transport box 10 includes a flexible tube 17 such as a tube for supplying nitrogen gas supplied via the gas supply path 43 of the support shaft 42 to the gas supply path 15 in the support member 14. As described above, the base 141, the support member 14, and the fork plate 11 on the base 13 of the substrate transport box 10 move together when the substrate W is taken out. Since it is necessary to supply nitrogen gas also during the movement, the flexible tube 17 is used to cope with the movement of the support member 14.

[Details of board standby box]
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the board standby box 21. Since the substrate standby box 21 and the substrate standby box 24 have the same configuration, only the substrate standby box 21 is described here, and the description of the configuration of the substrate standby box 21 is omitted.

  The substrate standby box 21 includes a columnar support member 21c for supporting a plurality of standby stages 21a. The support member 21c is provided at a position where there is no hindrance to the transport of the substrate W. The standby stage 21 a has a flat plate shape and is provided so as to be parallel to the bottom surface of the substrate standby box 21. Each standby stage 21 a includes an edge clamp 21 b serving as a positioning mechanism for determining the support position of the substrate W. A gas supply path 21d is provided inside the support member 21c and each standby stage 21a. In this embodiment, nitrogen gas is supplied from the gas supply path 21d as an inert gas.

  Each standby stage 21a is provided with an inert gas ejection mechanism at the substrate support position. The inert gas ejection mechanism is an inert gas ejection mechanism that injects the nitrogen gas supplied through the gas supply path 21d and the gas supply path 21d at a predetermined angle, for example, 45 degrees with respect to the surface of the standby stage 21a. It consists of a certain jet nozzle. The surface portion of the standby stage 21a that faces the back surface of the substrate W is formed of a conductive resin, and diffusion of static electricity caused by the supply of nitrogen gas and supply of the static electricity are prevented.

The substrates W are supported in a non-contact manner by Bernoulli adsorption one by one on the standby stage 21a by blowing out nitrogen gas. The arrow in FIG. 5 represents the flow path of nitrogen gas. The nitrogen gas ejected from the ejection nozzle of the standby stage 21a passes through the gap between the standby stage 21a and the back surface of the substrate W, and is supported from the peripheral portion of the substrate W to the surface portion of the substrate W and the other standby stage 21a. It goes around the surface of the substrate W. The circulated nitrogen gas stays in the accommodation space in the substrate standby box 21 and fills the accommodation space. Thereby, the atmospheric pressure in the accommodation space of the substrate waiting box 21 becomes a positive pressure with respect to the atmospheric pressure outside the housing of the substrate waiting box 21. The positive pressure prevents the outside air from flowing into the accommodation space of the substrate standby box 21 when the opening / closing mechanisms 22 and 23 are opened.
The substrate standby box 21 also includes a vent 28 that adjusts the internal pressure in the accommodation space. By opening the vent 28, it is possible to adjust the atmospheric pressure in the substrate waiting box 21 when the inside of the substrate waiting box 21 becomes too high. For this purpose, the substrate standby box 21 may include a barometer that measures the internal atmospheric pressure.

<Operation of substrate transfer device>
Next, the operation of the substrate transport apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. The substrate transfer device 1 operates as follows by a control device (not shown) equipped with a computer that reads and executes a control program. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a control procedure performed by the control device when a substrate is carried into the substrate standby chamber 20 from the carrier 30. 7 and 8 are views showing the state of the substrate transfer apparatus 1 at the time of carry-in.

[Operation when board is loaded]
The substrate loading is started when the carrier 30 is placed in the loading port 50 and the control device instructs the start of the substrate processing (S10). The carrier 30 is placed in the carry-in port 50 with the opening / closing mechanism 32 opened by the operator's hand, for example.
When the substrate transport box 10 moves along the guide 41 to a position facing the carrier 30 (S11), the substrate transport box 10 and the carrier 30 are brought into close contact with each other via the opening / closing mechanism 12. Thereafter, the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 is opened (S12). When the opening / closing mechanism 12 is opened, the opening surface provided with the opening / closing mechanism 32 of the carrier 30 and the opening surface provided with the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 directed to the opening surface are brought into close contact with each other. In addition, the accommodation space 31 of the carrier 30 and the inside of the substrate transport box 10 communicate with each other through each opening surface. Since the accommodation space 31 of the carrier 30 and the inside of the substrate transport box 10 communicate with each other while being in close contact, outside air does not enter the interior of the accommodation space 31 and the substrate transport box 10. Even if the outside air is touched, the outside air does not enter because the inside of the substrate transport box 10 is positive with respect to the outside air.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the base 141, the support member 14, and the plurality of fork plates are disposed along the base 13 of the substrate transport box 10 in a state where the accommodation space 31 of the carrier 30 communicates with the inside of the substrate transport box 10. 11 integrally enter the accommodation space 31 and take out the substrate from the accommodation space 31 (S13). When the base 141, the support member 14, and the plurality of fork plates 11 return to the original position of the substrate transport box 10 from the accommodation space 31 of the carrier 30 and the removal of the substrate is completed, the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 is It is closed (S14). Thus, the substrate is taken out from the carrier 30 to the substrate transport box 10.

  The substrate transport box 10 moves to the substrate standby chamber 20 side along the guide 41 after taking out the substrate. As shown in FIG. 7, the substrate transport box 10 turns 180 degrees at a position where it does not interfere with either the carrier 30 or the substrate standby chamber 20 (S15). By the turning, the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 faces the substrate standby chamber 20 side. The substrate transport box 10 moves along the guide 41 even after turning. As shown in FIG. 8, the substrate transport box 10 stops at a position where the opening / closing mechanism 22 of the substrate standby box 21 in the substrate standby chamber 20 and the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 are in close contact with each other. This close contact position is called a “supply port”.

  In the supply port, the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 and the opening / closing mechanism 22 of the substrate standby box 21 are opened in close contact with each other (S16). When the opening / closing mechanisms 12 and 22 are both opened, an opening surface provided with the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 and an opening surface provided with the opening / closing mechanism 22 of the substrate standby box 21 directed to the opening surface. Is in close contact. The inside of the substrate transport box 10 and the inside of the substrate standby box 21 communicate with each other through each opening surface. Since the inside of the substrate transfer box 10 and the inside of the substrate standby box 21 communicate with each other while being in close contact, the outside air does not enter the inside of the substrate transfer box 10 and the inside of the substrate standby box 21. Even if the outside air is touched, the outside air does not enter because the air pressure in the substrate transport box 10 and the substrate standby box 21 is set higher than the outside air pressure.

  In a state where the inside of the substrate transport box 10 and the inside of the substrate standby box 21 communicate with each other, the base 141, the support member 14, and the plurality of fork plates 11 are integrated along the base 13 of the substrate transport box 10. The vehicle enters the box 21 and carries the substrate onto the standby stage 21a (S17). When the base 141, the support member 14, and the plurality of fork plates 11 are returned from the substrate standby box 21 to the original position of the substrate transfer box 10 and the transfer of the substrate to the substrate standby chamber 20 is completed, the substrate transfer box 10 The opening / closing mechanism 12 and the opening / closing mechanism 22 of the substrate standby chamber 20 are closed (S18). As a result, the substrate is transferred from the substrate transfer box 10 to the substrate standby chamber 20.

  The substrates carried into the substrate standby box 21 of the substrate standby chamber 20 as described above are taken out by the transfer arm 27 after the opening / closing mechanism 23 is opened, for example, a plurality of sheets, for example, five, and transferred to the processing chamber 2. The When all the substrates are transferred from the substrate standby box 21 to the processing chamber 2, the opening / closing mechanism 23 is closed.

  The substrate processed in the processing chamber 2 is supported by the standby stage 24 a of the substrate standby box 24 in which the opening / closing mechanism 26 is opened by the transfer arm 27. When all the substrates have been processed, the substrates are all supported by the standby stage 24a of the substrate standby box 24, and the opening / closing mechanism 26 is closed. From this state, the substrate transport apparatus 1 unloads the substrate to the carrier 30.

[Operation when carrying out board]
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a control procedure performed by the control device when the substrate is carried out from the substrate standby chamber 20 to the carrier 30. 10-12 is a figure showing the state of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 1 at the time of carrying out. The operator places the carrier 30 in the carry-out port 51 before the carry-out is started. The carrier 30 is set in the carry-out port 51 with the opening / closing mechanism 32 opened by the operator's hand, for example.

  The substrate transport box 10 stopped at the position of FIG. 8 moves along the guide 41 to a position facing the substrate standby box 24 when all the substrates are supported by the standby stage 21a of the substrate standby box 24 (S20). ). As shown in FIG. 10, the substrate transport box 10 stops at a position where the opening / closing mechanism 25 of the substrate standby box 24 in the substrate standby chamber 20 and the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 are in close contact with each other.

  The opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 and the opening / closing mechanism 25 of the substrate standby box 24 are opened in close contact with each other (S21). By opening both of the opening / closing mechanisms 12 and 25, an opening surface provided with the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 and an opening surface provided with the opening / closing mechanism 25 of the substrate standby box 24 directed to the opening surface. Is in close contact. The inside of the substrate transport box 10 and the inside of the substrate standby box 24 communicate with each other through each opening surface. Since the inside of the substrate transfer box 10 and the inside of the substrate standby box 24 communicate with each other while being in close contact, the outside air does not enter the inside of the substrate transfer box 10 and the inside of the substrate standby box 24. Even if the outside air is touched, the outside air does not enter because the air pressure in the substrate transport box 10 and the substrate standby box 24 is set higher than the outside air pressure.

  In a state where the inside of the substrate transport box 10 and the inside of the substrate standby box 24 communicate with each other, the base 141, the support member 14, and the plurality of fork plates 11 are integrated along the base 13 of the substrate transport box 10. It enters the box 24 and takes out the substrate from the standby stage 24a (S22). When the base 141, the support member 14, and the plurality of fork plates 11 are returned from the substrate standby box 24 to the original position of the substrate transport box 10 and the removal of the substrate is completed, the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 and the substrate standby The opening / closing mechanism 25 of the box 24 is closed (S23). As a result, the substrate is taken out from the substrate standby chamber 20 to the substrate transport box 10.

  After the substrate is taken out, the substrate transport box 10 moves along the guide 41 toward the carrier 30 arranged at the carry-out port 51. As shown in FIG. 11, the substrate transport box 10 turns 180 degrees at a position where it does not interfere with either the substrate standby chamber 20 or the carrier 30 (S24). By the turning, the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 faces the carrier 30 side. The substrate transport box 10 moves along the guide 41 even after turning. As shown in FIG. 12, the substrate transport box 10 stops at a position where the opening / closing mechanism 32 of the carrier 30 and the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 are in close contact with each other.

  After the movement, the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 is opened (S25). When the opening / closing mechanism 12 is opened, the inside of the substrate transport box 10 and the accommodation space 31 of the carrier 30 communicate with each other. When the opening / closing mechanism 12 is opened, the opening surface provided with the opening / closing mechanism 32 of the carrier 30 and the opening surface provided with the opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 directed to the opening surface are brought into close contact with each other. The accommodation space 31 of the carrier 30 communicates with the inside of the substrate transport box 10 through each opening surface. Since the inside of the substrate transport box 10 and the accommodation space 31 of the carrier 30 communicate with each other while being in close contact, outside air does not enter the inside of the substrate transport box 10 and the accommodation space 31. Even if the outside air is touched, the outside air does not enter because the air pressure in the substrate transport box 10 is set higher than the outside air pressure.

  The base 141, the support member 14, and the plurality of fork plates 11 are integrally accommodated along the pedestal 13 of the substrate transport box 10 in a state where the inside of the substrate transport box 10 and the storage space 31 of the carrier 30 communicate with each other. It enters the space 31 and carries the substrate out to the accommodation space 31 (S26). When the base 141, the support member 14, and the plurality of fork plates 11 return to the original position of the substrate transport box 10 from the accommodation space 31 of the carrier 30, the substrate opening / closing mechanism 12 of the substrate transport box 10 is opened when the substrate is unloaded. It is closed (S27). As a result, the substrate is carried out from the substrate transport box 10 to the carrier 30.

  As described above, the process from carrying in the substrate to processing and carrying out is performed. Since the transfer of the substrate between the carrier 30 and the substrate transfer box 10 and the transfer of the substrate between the substrate transfer box 10 and the substrate standby chamber 20 are performed in close contact with each other, the influence of the outside air on the substrate is reduced. Can do. Further, the internal pressure of each of the substrate transport box 10 and the substrate standby boxes 21 and 24 is made higher than the external air pressure (that is, positive pressure), thereby preventing the outside air from touching the substrate during transport. By reducing the influence of outside air, contamination such as natural oxidation of the substrate can be suppressed.

  In addition, by providing the substrate standby chamber 20, it is possible to wait for the substrate before processing after loading in an inert gas atmosphere, and also wait for the substrate after processing before unloading in an inert gas atmosphere. be able to. Therefore, contamination of the substrate during standby can be suppressed. Further, since the inert gas only needs to be filled in the substrate standby boxes 21 and 24, it is not necessary to use a large amount as in the conventional case. Since the inert gas is not circulated, a circulation device is not required, and the entire substrate transfer apparatus 1 is not enlarged.

  In the above configuration, the substrate standby chamber 20 includes the two substrate standby boxes 21 and 24. However, this may be one. Even if the substrate transport box 10 is configured to carry the substrate into and out of the substrate standby box 21 as a configuration including only the substrate standby box 21, the above effect can be obtained. Further, the carry-in port 50 and the carry-out port 51 may not be provided separately, and the carrier 30 may be arranged in one port to carry in and carry out the substrate. In this case, the overall configuration of the substrate transfer apparatus 1 can be reduced.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the substrate standby chamber 20 is rotated 180 degrees in the middle of moving to the substrate standby chamber 20 side after taking out the substrate has been described. However, when the substrate standby chamber 20 is provided side by side with the carry-in port 50, There is no need to turn.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order to prevent the formation of an oxide film on the substrate surface, an inert gas is used as a gas that adsorbs the substrate to Bernoulli and stays in the substrate accommodation space (the substrate standby chamber 20 or the like). However, it is not always necessary to use inert gas in applications where the containment space is set to a positive pressure in order to suppress the entry of outside air into the accommodation space (contact between the substrate and the outside air). Need not be. For example, a rare gas, dry air adjusted to a predetermined pressure, or other gas that does not cause or hardly causes a chemical reaction with the substrate can be used for Bernoulli adsorption and gas that stays in the accommodation space.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Substrate transfer apparatus, 2 ... Processing chamber, 10 ... Substrate transfer box, 11, 273 ... Fork board, 111, 21b ... Edge clamp, 12, 22, 23, 25, 26, 32 ... Opening / closing mechanism, 13 ... Pedestal, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14, 21c ... Support member, 141 ... Base, 15, 21d, 43 ... Gas supply path, 16, 28 ... Vent, 17 ... Flexible pipe 20 ... Substrate standby chamber, 21, 24 ... Substrate standby box, 21a, 24a ... Standing stage, 27 ... Transfer arm, 271,41 ... Guide, 272 ... Rail, 30 ... Carrier, 31 ... Storage space, 33 ... Teeth, 40 ... Transfer mechanism, 42 ... Support shaft, 50 ... Loading port, 51 ... Unloading port.

Claims (9)

A movable substrate transport box for transporting a substrate having front and back surfaces,
It has a box-shaped housing with a storage space inside it,
The said receiving space, supporting plate for supporting each non contacting said substrate are arranged to overlap a plurality of stages at predetermined intervals,
Each support plate is formed with a positioning mechanism for the substrate and an inert gas ejection mechanism for injecting an inert gas toward the back surface of the substrate to adsorb the substrate to Bernoulli,
The inert gas passes through a gap between the support plate and the back surface portion of the substrate, wraps around the surface portion of the substrate supported by the surface portion and the other support plate, and stays in the accommodation space. Then, the housing space is configured to be a positive pressure with respect to the outside of the housing.
Board transfer box. Of the support plate, at least a surface portion facing the back surface portion of the substrate is formed of a conductive resin.
The substrate transport box according to claim 1. The housing is provided with a vent for adjusting the internal pressure of the housing space.
The substrate transport box according to claim 1 or 2. The inert gas is either nitrogen gas or dry air adjusted to a predetermined pressure,
The board | substrate conveyance box of Claim 1, 2, or 3. A first port in which a container for accommodating a plurality of substrates each having front and back portions is disposed;
A first substrate transport box for taking out the plurality of substrates from the container disposed in the first port and storing the taken out substrates;
A transfer mechanism for transferring the first substrate transfer box to a second port separated from the first port;
A second substrate transport box for accommodating a plurality of substrates taken out from the first substrate transport box transferred to the second port;
A guide mechanism for taking out a plurality of substrates accommodated in the second substrate transport box and guiding the taken out substrates to a processing chamber for performing a predetermined process on the substrates;
The first substrate transport box and the second substrate transport box are
It has a box-shaped housing with a storage space inside it,
In the accommodation space, support plates that support the substrate in a non-contact manner are arranged in a plurality of stages at a predetermined interval,
Each support plate is formed with a positioning mechanism for the substrate and an inert gas ejection mechanism for injecting an inert gas toward the back surface of the substrate in order to adsorb the substrate to Bernoulli,
The inert gas passes through the gap between the support plate and the back surface portion of the substrate, wraps around the surface portion of the substrate supported by the surface portion and other support plates, and stays in the accommodation space. Then, the housing space is configured to be a positive pressure with respect to the outside of the housing.
Substrate transfer device. In the container, the substrate is accommodated in a plurality of layers at a predetermined interval,
The plurality of stages of the support plates in the first substrate transport box are made to enter the container at a time, and the substrates are stored in the storage space of the first substrate transport box while adsorbing the substrates one by one to Bernoulli. A support plate displacement mechanism for allowing
The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 5. The support plate displacement mechanism is configured to cause the plurality of stages of the support plates to enter the accommodation space of the second substrate transport box at a time and transport the second substrate while adsorbing the substrates one by one on one support plate. In the storage space of the box,
The guide mechanism guides the substrate to the processing chamber while allowing the plurality of stages of the support plates to enter the accommodation space of the second substrate transport box at a time and adsorbing the substrates one by one on one support plate.
The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 6. In the container, a surface portion facing the first substrate transport box is opened in the first port,
The first substrate transport box includes an opening / closing mechanism that opens a surface portion of the housing that faces the opening surface of the container in a state of being in close contact with the opening surface of the container,
The second substrate transport box is in a state in which a surface portion of the housing that is directed to the opening surface of the first substrate transport box transferred to the second port is in close contact with the opening surface of the first substrate transport box. Equipped with an opening and closing mechanism to open,
The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 7. A third substrate transport box having the same configuration as the second substrate transport box, which accommodates the substrate processed in the processing chamber;
The board | substrate conveyance apparatus in any one of Claims 5-8.

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